Have you considered a projector? You can get amazing results with a DLP projector and a screen size of your choice and sports look great on a 100" diagonal screen! You could have a pull down or electronic remote controlled screen that you could hide and buy a small inexpensive TV for your regular every day quick viewing stuff. Some of the better projectors are coming down in price so fast that it's dizzying! Under $3500 for a 1080P and a nice 32" Sansung (32H42) LCD will only set you back now under $699. A good screen could be purchased for around $1k. So for about $5K you get can get installation, set-up, cables and you're in business.

I can't use a projector in my living room and don't have a family room(basement!!) with a ceiling that is high enought(read 70 yr old house).

I've narrowed it down to the Pioneer 5010 or the soon to be released Panasonic PZ850.
Plasma seems to be the way to go from what I've seen(pun intended).

Reading tons of reviews suggested that the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD was the best.
Going to many many stores/installers and personally looking lead me to agree that the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD is the best.

Admittedly, the difference was very small and hard to discern once the TVs were all setup correctly.

2 things most affecting my choice:
No Motion Blur or Artifacts (why I chose Plasma over all the LCDs)
Blacker than black black levels (why I chose Pioneer Kuro over Panasonic)

With the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD... I won't have to upgrade until Corneal/Retina nanotech 3D projection is available (or I win the lottery and get a 2160p display)

If money is not a problem then go with the Pioneer. If you want to save big bucks though I would definitley go with the Panasonic 720P Viera if you can still find them....

Do not get a LCD screen for over 40 inches as they are not as good as plasma IMO for this size....especially in the 50" and over.

I've also seen some incredible pictures for almost the same price as the Pioneer 50" in the 55" Hitachi and LG too!

The 50" Samsung Plasma is nice too however the best bang for the buck is still a 50" or 55" Panasonic....

Personally I have compared the Pioneer and Panasonic side by side and have to admit that if you are good at negotiating prices with a good local ma and pa type shop instead of a big chain you might find that you can save a lot $$$s. I was even able to negotiate $300 off a Panasonic 50" plasma off the advertised price at Future Shop here in Montreal for a friend of mine. (Future Shop is owned by Best Buy and yet they compete head on in Canada!)

The new Panasonic sets are amazing even compared to Sony's Bravia LCD, Sharp latest and Pioneer Elite (2 x price).

BTW I have done some digging and found out that 95% of the BLUE Ray movies are really just 720P...the BR players make amazing upconverting players for regular DVD's however don't forget that also there aren't any Broadcasts higher than 1080i or 720P...in other words there is very very little real 1080P stuff out there and that will remain that way for at least another 10 years IMO...sitting 12 to 15 feet back you will not notice a difference between a 1080P set and a 720P set viewing satellite HD and/or a 720P movie.

I have a 32" Samsung LCD and I can't believe the picture quality when viewing Hockey in HD on Satellite....yet when viewing the same broadcast on local HD Cable there is a significant difference because of the signal compression! I was an early adopter of Satellite TV because of the significant quality difference over cable TV. Even with Cable I used to get ghosting and uneven colors when cable was analog. Now digital cable (non HD) is much better however still no where as good as regular satellite (compression). And I was extremely happy with the picture quality on my 34" Toshiba Cinema Series TV (circa 1995) the last few years with satellite....Now I will be upgrading that TV to a 50 - 60 inch plasma with HD soon too. But for now I watch all my sports on that 32" Samsung as it's incredible....In the bigger sizes you need that 120 HZ for sports however not on a 32" set. I have difficulty believing that one day 10 to 20 years from now the TV sets will be 12 to 16 times the resolution of today's sets!

Reading tons of reviews suggested that the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD was the best.
Going to many many stores/installers and personally looking lead me to agree that the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD is the best.

Admittedly, the difference was very small and hard to discern once the TVs were all setup correctly.

2 things most affecting my choice:
No Motion Blur or Artifacts (why I chose Plasma over all the LCDs)
Blacker than black black levels (why I chose Pioneer Kuro over Panasonic)

With the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD... I won't have to upgrade until Corneal/Retina nanotech 3D projection is available (or I win the lottery and get a 2160p display)

I think you should at least look at a Mitsubishi LCD. I really think they have the best PQ of LCD. I think Pioneer has always been best in Plasma, after dropping RPTV, that's what they are all about for display.

I think you should at least look at a Mitsubishi LCD. I really think they have the best PQ of LCD. I think Pioneer has always been best in Plasma, after dropping RPTV, that's what they are all about for display.

I don't think anything can touch the new Sammy backlit LED LCDs. I've never seen such color accuracy before. The contrast is about 3rd best I've ever seen in a flat panel too. Combine that with the best color accuracy and you've got a hell of a TV.

I don't think anything can touch the new Sammy backlit LED LCDs. I've never seen such color accuracy before. The contrast is about 3rd best I've ever seen in a flat panel too. Combine that with the best color accuracy and you've got a hell of a TV.

Yes I would agree with you that the Samsungs have amazing color accuracy and that's what they are building their reputation on at the moment. However in sizes above 37" and especially 50", plasma is hands down the way to go. I've seen some remarkable 50" plasmas on sale this week-end for around $1,200 to $1,400. No 50" LCD will ever compete with that price. Therefore the best bang for the buck is PLASMA...Yes the new 50" LCD with the LED is amazing but so are the new 50" Plasmas for 1/2 the price and BETTER picture quality IMO.